Anybody who knows anything looked at USC's schedule over the summer and circled Saturday as the day when the fun begins.
The Sept. 15 "showdown" with Nebraska raised some eyebrows, as did the biannual trip to Notre Dame on Oct. 20.
But once eyes read to the eighth line, what followed was notable at best, terrifying at worst.
At Oregon, home to Oregon State, at Cal, at Arizona State, home to UCLA.
Add USC to that quintet, and you have the Pac-10's top 6 teams.
Find a comfy seat because the ride just got a whole lot more entertaining.
Saturday's game in Eugene, Ore., will mark the first time since Aug. 30, 2003 that the Trojans will be an underdog in a regular season game.
On that day, USC traveled to Auburn, Ala., and dismantled the Tigers 23-0.
Don't expect Saturday's contest to be that easy. Oregon is riding high and USC will have to play its best game of the year to win.
To have success against the Ducks, or any of their remaining five opponents, there is a simple four-step formula the Trojans must follow.
1. Make big plays. In what now feels like the glory days of 2004 and 2005, USC piled up yards like Tiger Woods' tee ball. The average scoring drive was somewhere in between instantaneous and two bites of hot dog.
In the Trojans' two most emphatic wins of the season - Nebraska and Notre Dame - they amassed four plays of 40 yards or more.
Vidal Hazelton's Newton-defying touchdown reception and Joe McKnight's blazing touchdown run were the difference between blah and booyah against the Irish.
USC is going to have to score in bunches to compete in the coming weeks. The Pac-10 elite is reinvigorating the conference's label of offensive juggernaut.
Cal averages more than five touchdowns per game. ASU ranks 12th in the nation in scoring offense.
Oregon tops them all by averaging 46.6 points per game without the help of French judges. Absurd.
USC's defense is staunch, but no team is good enough to completely lock down Oregon and ASU.
A dearth of big plays by the offense will ultimately spell disappointment.
2. Rush for more than 100 yards. Recently, all the focus has been on the passing game, and understandably so. The key to USC's success, however, lies in the running game.
The Trojans have failed only four times to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark in the past three seasons. One of those times was against Michigan in the 2007 Rose Bowl, when John David Booty threw for nearly 400 yards in a romp.
The other three times? Yeah. Oregon State and UCLA in 2006, and Stanford two weeks ago.
Stats are often overrated, but these numbers cannot be ignored.
The last time USC gained more than 100 yards rushing and lost to a team not quarterbacked by Vince Young was in 2002 against Kansas State.
Stump the Schwab with that one.
3. Win the turnover battle. USC coach Pete Carroll constantly stresses the correlation between turnovers and success, but few realize how tangible the evidence is.
In the team's last four losses, dating back to the 2006 Rose Bowl against Texas, it has turned the ball over a staggering 12 times while only getting three in return.
USC is a team fueled by momentum, and nothing kills momentum like an ill-advised turnover.
For proof of how the Trojans operate, look no further than the go-ahead scores the past two weeks.
Trailing Arizona by 3 in the fourth quarter, Joe McKnight returns a punt 45 yards to the Arizona 23-yard line, and on the next play, Mark Sanchez throws the best pass of his USC career into Fred Davis' hands for a touchdown.
Three punts and 12 minutes into the first quarter at Notre Dame, it looked as if it'd be another trying Saturday for USC. But the Irish make a critical mistake during the third punt return, USC recovers, and on the next play it's Sanchez to Davis again for 7.
Sure, 31 points later the victory over Notre Dame felt like a walk in the park, but take away those two plays and the Trojans end the first quarter frustrated and tied 0-0.
Momentum breeds emotion, and emotion is what the team lacks in uninspired performances.
The squeaker over Washington and the loss to Stanford brought comparisons to drones for a reason - humans show emotion, and USC was devoid of it.
4. Pressure the opposing quarterback. The strength of USC's defense - and arguably USC as a whole - is its front seven.
The defensive line and linebackers are better and faster than any other defense the Trojans will play this season.
The Popsicle stick that pierced Lawrence Jackson's gums on the flight to South Bend is about the only thing that's taken on USC's front seven and come out on top.
USC's secondary is solid, but not spectacular. It operates best when the opposing quarterback has other things to think about besides receiver routes.
Imagine what was going through Irish quarterback Evan Sharpley's mind when he saw USC's 305-pound Sedrick Ellis leap in the air like a mutated flying squirrel on HGH.
I can only imagine. But what I do know is Sharpley didn't think about taking the time to throw another deep ball until his final pass of the game, which was intercepted.
Dennis Dixon and Rudy Carpenter have thrown a combined 32 touchdown passes this season.
If these quarterbacks are allowed to let 'er rip, the Trojans' chances at winning will be about as good as John Madden's survival rate on a diet.
So, to summarize: If the Trojans break out for a few big plays, rush for over 100 yards, keep the turnover battle close and pressure the quarterback, they will win.
Now go find that girl or guy you have your eye on and tell him or her this as if you thought of it yourself.
There's nothing better than saying, "I told you so."
- To comment on this story, visit
www.dailytrojan.com or e-mail Peter at simones@usc.edu.
